Cold Ears and a Warm Bath
by roisaber
Summary: Lord Sesshomaru has a surprise encounter with a certain woman calling herself the Dimension Witch. Accepting her hospitality to escape a blizzard, her odd behavior surprises him time and time again before the storm blows over.


"Lord Sesshomaru, it's _cold_," Jaken complained bitterly.

Sesshomaru shrugged. As a yokai, the freezing mountain winds didn't bother him much. Jaken decided to push back against his master's apathy.

He asked Sesshmoaru accusingly, "Do you even know where we're going? We've been wandering these icy wastes for days!"

"No matter. We'll find the Tessaiga even if it takes us a hundred years."

"Heavens forbid!" Jaken sputtered in reply.

They were high in the mountains of central Japan, and the first of the late autumnal storms was ruthlessly bearing down on them. Even though it was only early afternoon, the skies were already dark grey, heralding the blizzard that was almost upon them. Though Sesshomaru was in no danger of suffering hypothermia, it was still difficult to walk through driving snow, and he resolved to find a cave or suitable trench so that the pair could hunker down until the storm passed. He sniffed the air. With his superhuman hearing and sense of smell, Sesshomaru was confident that he could pinpoint a suitable location to ride out the storm. He was quite surprised when he smelled the smoke of a hearth fire.

"I smell smoke, but there are no human villages nearby, and there's no possibility of a forest fire," he said wonderingly.

Jaken replied, "Let's find it quickly! With the right application of gold, I'm sure we can get a private room in some huntsman's lodge."

Sesshomaru grunted. A flake of snow fell from the sky and landed on his nose, making him tickle. He tried to blow it off with a well-aimed stream of air from his lips but he succeeded only in blowing his long silvery hair into his own eyes. He went back to concentrating on the direction of the scent.

"It's coming from the north," he finally said.

Sesshomaru led, and Jaken kept to his master's footprints to avoid sinking hip deep in the layer of fresh snow that filled the long glacial valley. Sesshomaru's keen senses quickly drew them near a copse of pine trees. He was surprised to find a manmade path leading between the trees, and though covered in a foot of snow it was still easily navigable by the pair. To his amazement, he soon caught sight of the source of the smoke. It was a small two story house, done in a bizarre architectural style and brightly lit from inside. With a growing sense of trepidation, Sesshomaru realized that it was surrounded by a powerful barrier, as strong as that of a blessed temple.

"What is the meaning of this, Master?" Jaken asked.

"I don't know." His mouth tugged with the hint of a smirk. "Let's knock and find out."

He banged on the gate with the hilt of the Tensaiga, careful not to make any attempt to open it and risk getting burned, or worse, by the spiritual barrier surrounding the strange house. In no time at all, a woman wearing an elegant black and gold kimono came out of the house and regarded the pair with bemusement. Though her voice was soft, it had no trouble being audible over the sound of an increasingly angry wind.

"Hello, travelers. I've been expecting you."

Sesshomaru snorted. "I find that unlikely. Unless, perhaps, you're a yuki-onna here to drain us of our lives?"

The woman laughed easily, a sound that carried with the melodious tinkling of crystal.

"I am the Dimension Witch, Ichihara Yuko. Welcome to my shop."

She lifted a finger, and through an application of a force Sesshomaru couldn't quite perceive, the gate opened and the spiritual barrier dropped. Sesshomaru glanced momentarily at Jaken, as if for advice, and then remembered himself and decided to take charge of the situation. He boldly strode through the open gate and stood confidently before the woman calling herself a Dimension Witch. Jaken winced and followed.

"We are looking for a place to ride out the storm, Lady Ichihara. Can you help us?"

"We can pay, of course," Jaken added quickly.

"I have no need of your gold," the woman replied with a silky voice. "However, I will accommodate you nevertheless. Please follow me."

Sesshomaru followed the woman into her warm shop, and Jaken hurried at his heels. The inside of the house was a cacophony of wonders. Dozens of strange machines and books written in alien tongues greeted him at every turn, but he was determined to keep his head and not appear impressed. Jaken was struck speechless which was just as well.

"Maru! Moro!" the Witch called out. "Warm sake for our guests, please!"

There was a high-pitched cry of assent, and Ichihara Yuko led the pair to a small room filled with the accoutrements of fortune telling. There was a crystal ball sitting on a purple tablecloth; tarot cards, tea leaves, scales, and natal charts cluttered a nearby shelf. Yuko sat confidently in a throne-like chair on one side of the table, and Sesshomaru and Jaken obediently took up places across from her.

"May I ask why have you decided to host us, Lady Ichihara?" Sesshomaru asked.

It cost nothing to be polite after all.

"Simple curiosity," the woman said.

Sesshmoaru tried to guess her age and was completely flummoxed in spite of his efforts. She could have been a young fifty, an old twenty, or anything in between. Her skin was very pale and perhaps the fear that she was a yuki-onna wasn't entirely ill-founded. Something about her was deceptive, however, as if she was hiding her true age behind a dozen interlocking spells. Sesshomaru was guardedly curious himself. He kept his cloak over much of his head, hiding as many of his otherworldly features as possible, though that didn't do much to conceal Jaken.

"Answering your questions is the least we could do to thank you for your hospitality!" Jaken enthused.

Sesshomaru shot the imp a glance and he shut up.

Maru and Moro chose that moment to enter the room with a tray containing a large bottle of sake and three ceramic cups. Yuko poured them each a draught and Jaken gulped his greedily despite the steam rising off the hot liquid.

"Oh! Hot!" the imp groaned.

"It's certainly unusual to see travelers such as yourselves in these parts," Yuko reflected aloud. "You must have some reason for wandering the mountain in defiance of the Winter Shogun."

"I'm looking for my half-brother. He has something that rightfully belongs to me," Sesshomaru answered coolly.

"And what is that?"

Sesshomaru paused, but he ultimately didn't see any harm in answering.

"My father's sword Tessaiga."

"Is sibling rivalry typical among your kind?"

Sesshomaru held his tongue.

"Perhaps I could help you find it," the Witch said breezily. "But you'd have to offer something of equal value in return."

Without hesitation, Sesshomaru unhooked the sheath containing the Tensaiga and handed it to the woman. Jaken squeaked with shock, but the dog yokai shot him a hard look and the little imp went silent. For her part, Yuko slowly unsheathed the shining silver blade and regarded it with rapt fascination. She ran her finger along the metal under Sesshomaru's watchful glare. Finally, she shrugged, resheathed the holy weapon, and passed it back to Sesshomaru.

"It's a lovely artifact," she explained. "However, the magic binding it to you is far too strong for me to accept it as an article of exchange."

"If you're such a great Witch, why don't you break the binding and take the weapon for free?" Sesshomaru offered with an audible hint of sarcasm.

"I choose not to. That's reason enough."

Sesshomaru went as if to stand up. "I think we have no further business here."

"My offer still stands," Yuko said. "You are free to stay here the night; the storm will have passed by tomorrow afternoon."

Sesshomaru wasn't used to accepting generosity, so he responded combatively.

"How do you know it's safe?" he spat.

"You would be my guest and I swear that no harm would come to you."

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. "How do you know _you'd_ be safe?"

For the first time, Yuko's easygoing smile darkened.

"Anyone who tries to harm me will be condemned to Black Thread Hell," she answered.

"Lord Sesshomaru – " Jaken began.

"We'll stay."

In truth, the tips of Sesshomaru's ears were still a little sore from the cold.

"You haven't drunk any of your sake," Yuko pointed out.

Sesshomaru smirked. "Drink a Witch's brew?"

"Suit yourself."

A grandfather clock ticked off seconds as the three were lost momentarily in their own thoughts. Yuko, for her part, was delighted to have such strange people as her guests for the evening. In her line of work the wonders never ceased, and Sesshomaru was as odd a duck as she'd entertained in months. Jaken was tipsy from the warm sake; his tiny body was no match for even a small sake cups' worth, and he was barely able to keep himself from running off to examine everything in the Witch's strange house. Sesshomaru was deeply suspicious of Yuko's motives, and kept trying to guess at her angle. Finally, Yuko broke the silence.

"I'll tell your fortune," she offered to Sesshomaru. "One gold ryo is my fee."

Sesshmoaru snorted. "I thought you didn't want our gold."

"In this case I'll accept it."

Sesshomaru caught sight of a mahjong set sitting on a shelf and decided to make a counteroffer.

"I challenge you to a game of mahjong," he said. "If I win, you'll read my fortune for free. If you win, I'll give you two gold ryo; double your fee."

Yuko smiled. "Very well. I hope you can afford to lose."

The two played a bitterly long game of mahjong. Jaken fell asleep, and Sesshomaru watched with increasing astonishment as Yuko gulped down one carafe of sake after another. In spite of the growing flush in her pale cheeks, she still held her own on the table, and soon Sesshomaru realized he didn't stand a chance against the woman calling herself a Dimension Witch. The sound of the wind grew until it was a relentless howl, and the dog yokai was astonished by how warm and well-insulated the strange house was against the elements. Maybe the woman wasn't exaggerating her powers by that much after all. Flushed and clumsy, Yuko nevertheless placed her winning tile down with a flourish.

"Damn!" Sesshomaru muttered, chagrinned.

"Two ryo, please," Yuko slurred triumphantly.

True to his word, Sesshomaru reached down and pulled two gold coins out of the purse hanging at Jaken's side. The little imp hardly stirred in his sleep. Yuko made them disappear into thin air with a complicated gesture, and then she dumped a handful of tea leaves into a bowl of water and stared at them intently. Despite being a yokai and having intimate knowledge of magical weapons and paranormal barriers, Sesshomaru still didn't expect much from the Dimension Witch's reading. Finally, she spoke in a sing-song tone.

_Leaves fall on the grass._

_The thief finds an empty purse;_

_Another day fades._

"Does that mean I'll never possess the Tessaiga?" Sesshomaru demanded.

Yuko looked up at him with clear, dark eyes.

"No matter what I say, you're going to continue your journey anyway," she pointed out languidly.

"What a waste of time!"

Yuko stood unsteadily.

"I'm going to retire to my chambers," she announced. "I'll have Maru and Moro draw you a bath, if you'd like."

Unlike many dog yokai, Sesshomaru actually liked taking baths - just so long as they were warm.

"That would me most gracious," he replied imperiously.

He waited while the Witch's strange underlings did what they were told and prepared a bath for him. Jaken was led to their quarters for the night and almost immediately started snoring loudly under the effects of the drink. When the bath was finally ready, Sesshomaru shooed the pair out of the bathroom and started dismantling the complicated garments that both clothed him and announced his royal heritage to anyone with knowledge of such things. He was surprised to see a full-length mirror on the wall of the bathroom, bigger and clearer than any reflection he'd ever seen before. He regarded himself curiously in the precise image.

His arms were muscular and agile from his years of sword handling. His chest was strong, and beneath it was a firm musculature that was as good for rapid and precise movement as it was for raw strength. No one had ever asked him if the carpet matched the curtains, and he probably wouldn't have known what they meant if they did, but nevertheless his manhood was wreathed in a trimmed halo of fuzzy white pubic hair. He turned and tried to get a look at the back of himself. He was pleased to note that his ass was still firm, but supple. With his acute sense of smell, he could make out his own scent along with the hot water of the bath and the perfumed soaps and shampoos. In spite of travelling for days without so much as a dip in a river, he didn't stink, though he did have the scent of man mixed in with a little bit of fresh puppy. Satisfied, he slid into the steaming warm bath with an audible sigh of pleasure, to be heard only by himself.

Getting a warm bath was a rare luxury in his wandering. Sure, there was the rare hot spring, and if he disguised himself really well and waited until everyone else went to bed he could occasionally take a bath in an inn's public facilities. Still, even then it was nothing like the bath in the Witch's house. The porcelain of the tub was warm and smooth against his skin and fur. Sesshomaru pondered the strange globes of light that lit the entire room with a steady illumination that didn't as much as flicker. More sorcery, he assumed.

The pair were awakened the next morning by the scent of cooking fish. His tail involuntarily flicked the air, and he quickly silenced his uncharacteristic excitement. Padding down the stairs they discovered breakfast well underway, and Yuko, unbelievably, was already taking deep draughts out of a bottle of wine. Sesshomaru started.

"It's barely after dawn and you're already drinking!?" he asked.

"The best cure for a hangover," the Witch replied with an illegible smile.

Sesshomaru had enough of the dubious woman's hospitality.

"Thank you very much for sheltering us for the night, but we really must get going," he announced. "I'm going to find the Tessaiga and take it for myself no matter what you say."

"The storm is almost past; I'm sure it'll be nothing but a few scattered flakes if you wait until after breakfast," Yuko offered.

"No!"

"But Master-" Jaken objected.

The little imp had been looking forward to a hearty breakfast.

"Come, Jaken. We must be leaving."

And so, Yuko led the pair outside and to the gate that separated the shop from the outside world of medieval Japan.

"Thank you again for your hospitality, Lady Yuko," Sesshomaru remembered to say.

There were still a few squalls kicking up snow, and he quickly lowered his hood down over his head so as to avoid getting snowflakes on his sensitive ears.

"It was interesting. A pleasure, certainly. Farewell on your quest," Yuko answered.

Sesshomaru and Jaken made their way back along the path and into the small woods that managed to grow on the frostbitten top of the mountain. Sesshomaru turned to get one last look at the Witch and her odd home, but to his amazement, the building was entirely gone. He almost yelped in surprise.

Jaken stared at where the house had stood only minutes before.

"What a strange character, Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken reflected aloud.

Yuko, already feeling the effects of the liquor, struggled to make herself a pot of strong coffee in anticipation of her next meeting.

"What strange characters," she reflected aloud.


End file.
